1. Field of the Invention
This invention relates to an induced draft, crossflow water cooling tower wherein a plurality of upright fill structure sections are disposed at generally equally spaced intervals around the entire tower with only a minimum of non-air inlet surface facing outwardly of the tower. The construction maximizes the area available for exposure of air inlet faces of the fill structure for a given plan area of the tower.
In order to enhance the corrosion resistance of the tower components, particularly in coastal areas where salt deposition is an ongoing problem, the hot water distribution basin, the cold water basin and the sections of the tower between fill structures are all advantageously manufactured of a corrosion resistant material such as a reinforced synthetic resin. The fill structure is provided with chevron pattern synthetic resin film fill sheets which also are resistant to corrosion or degradation in high corrosion risk areas. Similarly, the fan components of the tower are desirably constructed of materials which resist corrosion such as aluminum, stainless steel, reinforced synthetic resin, or the like.
In one preferred form of construction, the tower has four fill structure sections presenting a square arrangement in plan view having upright, triangular shaped corner column supports between adjacent fill structure sections. The underlying cold water basin is connected to the corner columns and the upper hot water distribution basin is connected to and supported by the columns.
The invention is particularly useful for small and medium sized towers employed in commercial buildings and limited scale industrial applications.
2. Description of the Prior Art
In general, mechanical draft crossflow water cooling towers may have a hot water distribution basin, a cold water collection basin, and fill structure disposed between the distribution basin and the collection basin. Hot water delivered to the overhead basin is permitted to gravitate through distribution means forming a part of the hot water basin onto underlying fill structure. Gravitational flow of the water downwardly through the fill structure is crossflow relationship to horizontal currents of air flowing transversely through the fill structure from the inlet to the outlet thereof, is cooled as it moves downwardly through respective fill sections. The internal, upright outlet face or faces of the fill structure are in communication with a fan cylinder located in the upper part of the tower or in a vertical wall of the casing spaced from the outlet face of the fill. A motor driven fan within the fan cylinder causes air to be drawn in through the inlet faces of the fill structure, to move horizontally through the fill, and then to be discharged from the tower through the fan cylinder.
Crossflow water cooling towers have been manufactured and sold in various forms for a number of years. One crossflow tower used for air conditioning applications in small commercial establishments and larger multifamily residential units has a rectangular casing with a cool air inlet face in one upright sidewall, and a hot air discharge aperture in the upper horizontal surface. A fill pack primarily made up of film sheet fill struture is used to bring hot water discharged from the upper hot water basin into crossflow water cooling relationship to air drawn into the fill through the air inlet and ultimately discharged via the hot water discharge aperture. This type of cooling tower has for the most part been sold as a completed package which is transported to the use site.
Another crossflow cooling tower in widespread usage is similar to the package tower just described except that it is much larger, has a larger capacity, is field erected, and is employed in industrial and process applications, as well as large scale buildings requiring significant water cooling capacity for air conditioning.
Field erected crossflow cooling towers may either be of the so-called single airflow or double airflow type. In the single airflow configuration, cooling air enters a single cool air inlet face, passes horizontally through the fill structure in transverse relationship to the hot water gravitating therethrough, and is ultimately vertically discharged through the hot air discharge opening. The three remaining sides of the tower casing are closed.
A double airflow tower has cool air inlet faces on opposed sides of the rectangular casing, is provided with two separate fill structures adjacent a respective air inlet face, and has a single centrally located air discharge fan and cylinder between the hot water distribution basins of the tower for simultaneously pulling air in through both air inlets and to then discharge such air inwardly from the central internal air plenum defined by the inner, spaced upright faces of respective fill structures. In the double airflow type of tower, the distance between opposed air inlet faces of the tower casing is typically significantly greater than the horizontal dimension of the tower between opposed closed sidewalls.
Increasing energy costs for operating the fans of water cooling towers and to pump water to be cooled to hot water distribution basins has required that the overall economics of cooling towers be carefully scrutinized. Initial installation costs are important as well as operating expenses and the overall theoretical longevity of the tower. Finally, especially in the case of smaller cooling towers for light industry, commercial and multi-unit residential installations, aesthetics must be taken into account in the design of the cooling tower.
Until the present invention, there has not been available a water cooling tower at a reasonable cost which is fabricated of highly corrosion resistant materials, has a long useful life even in geographical areas where corrosion from salt is a problem, presents a compact package for use in smaller capacity cooling tower applications, is aesthetically pleasing, operates with equal effectiveness regardless of the direction of ambient air currents, and may be installed at different sites, either as a single tower or as a series of towers without substantial regard for the disposition of adjacent structures or the direction of prevailing air currents.
Furthermore, it has not heretofore been possible to provide a water cooling tower having the attributes described which is compact in design yet provides the water cooling capacity of much larger previously availabe crossflow water cooling towers by virtue of the fact that fill structures are provided on all four sides of the tower for most effective cooling regardless of prevailing air currents and permitting utilization of fill structures of minimum dimensions in the direction of airflow for maximum water cooling effectiveness.